Thrift shops have good books...and I am bored

Just thought I would write another post since I have soooooo much time to kill before 1.00pm bus boarding...it is only 9.05am hahahah! Good thing I bought a new book from the thrift shop yesterday! 

Yes...I know it looks terrible...but war-time romance novels are my guilty pleasure! Good thing thrift shops are mainly where you find these tacky things- this one only cost me 50cents! This is my third book of the trip, so it is good when they are this cheap because I don't feel bad about leaving them on a park bench or the back pocket of a plane seat- for the next lucky reader to find! ;) I also thought I would post about it because I haven't really talked much about thrift shopping lately...I have been to some good ones but I can't bring myself to buy stuff and make my bag even heavier!!! So novels might have to satisfy my op-shopping needs until I get to the UK!

I am still in Starbucks right now...it has been almost 2 hours and I think the staff are starting to think I am just part of the furniture. I don't mind though- it seems that Starbucks is the place for using free wifi- I'm not the only one in here with a laptop, that's for sure. 

I thought I would talk a little bit about what I have been experiencing/thinking since being on this trip, since I have really only been posting about what I have been seeing... plus I am bored right now haha!

So lets see...

What have I learnt?

-I have learnt that I don't mind being on my own. On some days, especially on the days when I am travelling from one place to another, it feels like I haven't opened my mouth to talk to anyone all day! It is a strange feeling, but also a kind of peaceful one.

-I have learnt that travelling makes you feel like extra clothes and accessories are a hindrance, rather than a necessity. I have never liked wearing the same outfit more than a couple of times...but since being away I don't mind because everywhere I go is new, and in some strange way this seems to make my outfit new too! No one there has seen it yet! Plus I am finding that I am just wearing what is at the top of my backpack and easiest to reach, rather than searching through it. Oh, and my backpack weighs a ton so the less clothes, the better! I have actually already done 2 bag cleanses where I have given away clothes and other stuff I was carrying to op-shops. Very satisfying, I must say!

-I have learnt that good shoes are a god-send. In California, Tom took me to the Vans store and I bought 3 pairs for $100- soooo cheap. I left one pair with Tom to send to me later, but I am so glad for the other two pairs. They are so comfy and really good for the days that I am doing a lot of walking around train stations/ airports. 

-I have learnt that loneliness can creep up on you at the most unexpected times. I have also found that I don't know myself as much as I thought I did before I left- in regard to what I am capable of doing and also some personal stuff about my personality... this is all a good thing- big learning experience!

Anyway, that's enough for now...this post is getting too long!

I finally caved and bought a Starbucks coffee...made with milk, NOT cream! But now I think that is enough wifi, time to go read my tragic war-time romance novel in the Vancouver sun!!!!

xxx

Day 18: Vancouver, a long run in Moody Point and my love affair with Starbucks....

Vancouver! I got here a couple of days ago and fell in love with it straight away! My first thought was 'That is a LOT of trees!' Literally, I cannot explain how many trees there are here! Every mountain you see is just covered in this thick green forrest...it's awesome. The air here is really clear- especially in Moody Point where I was staying for 2 nights with my friend Ben and his girlfriend Nadya. It was so amazing to see Ben of course, he is a really good friend of mine and also used to be my neighbour! So I really miss him in Adelaide. He seems happy enough though, living in Moody Point and trying to get a bit of a life together there... I wanted to spend more time with him but I am already on my way to Whistler to see my other friend Erin. I will spend more time with Ben on my way back though- on my last weekend in Canada, so that we can do some stuff together. The only full day I had in Moody Point was a working day for Ben, so I went for a really huge run/walk (I will post the photos below!).

Me and my long-lost neighbour, Benaloney :)

It is currently 8.07am here, and I don't board my bus to Whistler until 1.00pm :( It is a long time to wait, but my ever-reliable Starbucks is here to save the day with it's top quality wifi (not to mention these little cheese-platter snack boxes I have come to like!) I haven't ordered a coffee yet, funnily enough, because I have been told that they make the coffees with pure cream! It sounds delicious but it would make me feel sick for sure! I think you can ask for them to make your coffee on milk, though...so maybe I will get one now! But for the most part, I have just been coming here and buying coconut waters or green teas...and then proceeding to use their wifi for the next 4 hours or so! Haha, classic traveller cheap-ass! 

Coconut Water= wifi! ;)

I am looking forward to seeing Erin in Whistler! She has heaps planned for us while I am there- hiking, camping, biking, lake swimming, picnics.... arrrgghhhh I am so excited- I LOVE all that kind of stuff and I LOVE Erin! It has been almost 2 years since I last saw her... I am so lucky to be seeing all these friends that I have missed so much! 
I am also looking forward to coming back to Moody Point on my last weekend here! This is because I want to spend more time with Ben, but also because Moody Point was beautiful...as you can see! These are the photos I took whilst on my Run around the Moody Point shoreline trail yesterday...

Morro Bay

Morro Bay, where Thomas lives, is a little Fisherman's town near San Luis Obispo. It kind of reminded me of somewhere like Port Hughes in South Australia, full of little shack-style beach houses. Tom's house was towards the back of the town, on a big hill that overlooked the ocean and the big rock that Morro Bay is known for. But the thing about Morro Bay is, no matter what the weather is like in the rest of California, it is always covered in thick cloud. Tom and I would drive out of Morro Bay and it would be a sunny beautiful day, but Morro Bay would always be misty. You can see what I mean in this pic...

This is the giant rock in Morro Bay...but you can't really see it through the fog!

When Tom was at work, I mainly just went for really long walks and a few runs. I am really glad I trained myself up for running long distances before I left on this trip- it is a really good way of seeing everything. One of my favourite trails in Morro Bay was this one...

Whenever Tom wasn't at work, we did lots of mini road trips and a bit of exploring... I really appreciated him taking the time to show me around. We had heaps of fun, even when we weren't partying! I will really miss him!

Me and Tom :) 

I had a really good time in Morro Bay. Apart from seeing Tom, I really enjoyed relaxing while he was at work, going for lots of runs/walks, exploring and hanging out with some of Tom's housemates- who were all very lovely and welcoming, we had a lot of fun! Especially on the last night, or at least I THINK I had fun...I can't really remember due to how much I drank. I am still feeling the effects of it 2 days later! I don't mind partying, but I definitely don't want to drink that much again on this trip! This next photo is the only real evidence I have of being out that night...it is a photo of Thomas being cheeky as usual.... I will miss Morro Bay and I will REALLY miss Tom :(

Road trippin' with Thomas...

The train ride from Oceanside to San Luis Obispo was about 8 hours...and the wifi did not work for some reason...so I got a lot of reading in! (shout-out to my Mum who gave me a really awesome book to read before I left! I pretty much finished it on this train ride!). I don't mind train rides at all though- much nicer and easier than plane rides. I tried to get a couple of photos but the train was really going too fast... I did manage to get this one though, which I thought was cool:

Once I FINALLY got to my destination, Tom picked me up from the train station. It was sooo good to see him, it had been so long. We went to go get dinner somewhere straight from the station, but in true Rach-and-Tom style, we ended up getting very drunk and had to stay at one of his friends houses for the night. It was so much fun to party with him- it is definitely like a tradition when it comes to Thomas!

The next day we were pretty hung over, but still wanted to do something with the day. Tom decided we should go camping, so I bought a cheap tent, shoved all my stuff into Tom's truck and off we went. We drove for hours and saw lots of cool stuff!

What a cutie ;)

But....we never ended up going camping! Instead, we kept driving all the way through to Monterey where some guys from Adelaide were staying. We ended up partying again, and I met some really fun people who we became friends with for the night. Monterey is another place I would really like to come back to one day...it is a really cool place with lots of trees and really lovely people :)

It was a really good night- so much fun that I didn't even mind that we never ended up going camping. To be honest I didn't care what we did, as long as I got to spend time with Tom :)

Oceanside: A seaside town full of art, thrift shops and sunflowers :)

Still catching up on my posts...I actually wrote about Oceanside on Day 6 of my travels, when I was actually leaving it on the train to San Luis Obispo (I am now on day 17 of my trip- I can't believe it!). I am glad I wrote everything down though because I really wanted to post about Oceanside- I really loved that little town! 

Oceanside is a nice little seaside town full of healthy cafes, street art and thrift shops. It was also the first place that I spotted my beloved sunflowers (but since then I have found that they are actually really common in America). I went to Oceanside to see my friend Gabby, and I was so happy to see her and also glad to see a familiar face! Gabby lives right on the beach in a cute little apartment that I fell in love with- I am so jealous of her lifestyle right now!

On my first day, I spent an hour down at the beach- I know this because I put an alarm on my phone so I wouldn't stay out there too long. I am so glad I did that because in only one hour I got soooo burnt! I really paid for that a couple of days later when I had to wear my big backpack again- it is not a fun activity when you have red-raw shoulders! Ouchies!

Little did I know how much this would hurt later...

On the last night of my stay in Oceanside, Gabby took me to the farmers markets. I have to say that even after my first few nights in Hollywood, the Oceanside Farmers Market was the first experience that really made me realise I was in America! I saw very some interesting characters there that is for sure- and LOTS of dog strollers! Haha! There was a band playing and all the locals were really getting into it, especially a certain few hippy types that were really funny to watch!

I really loved Oceanside- so much that I am going to go back there after Canada, instead of staying in Hollywood again like I had originally planned. I definitely prefer smaller towns to big and busy places like Hollywood- plus it will be Gabby's birthday, so I want to see her for that! I think it is funny to think that if I didn't know Gabby, I probably would never have visited Oceanside in my lifetime- and same goes for Morro Bay where Tom lives!

Anyway, here are some more photos I took of beautiful Oceanside...

From where you'd rather be...?

Runyon Canyon

Every time I leave the house, Dad always says to me 'Don't talk to strangers!' Despite me being 22 years old now, I'm pretty sure I have still heard him say it on recent occasions. The other night in Hollywood, I had to go against his advice. I was sitting at a restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard, when a man came up to my table and started talking to me. He was about 55 years old and he was wearing rollerblades. I had seen him in the days leading up to this moment, weaving his way in and out of the Hollywood crowd on his skates. When he came up to me, at first I was thinking 'great...how am I going to escape this weirdo!?' But after a couple of minutes I could tell he was just a friendly bloke who liked to chat! I didn't get any bad vibes, so we ended up talking for a while. The reason I am telling you this is because after finding out that I was into fitness, he suggested to me that I run up Runyon Canyon. So the next morning that is exactly what I did! It was a really amazing view at the top, and the steep trail definitely provided a good work out! Plus...there were SOOOO many dogs up there! So I was very happy, and glad that I spoke to that strange roller blading man...

I sneakily took lots of photos of all the cute dogs that were on this trail! I especially loved the pug that I met- his name was Humphrey! I have found that Americans really LOVE their dogs- especially really tiny dogs. I have actually seen heaps of people pushing 'dog strollers' with tiny dogs sitting inside...NO JOKE!

More views....and HUMPHREY!!!

Oh wifi, how i missed you

Sorry! I haven't had the chance to post anything lately because I have been travelling all around to places that don't have wifi! It is funny how such a techno thing such as wifi can bring so much comfort! I just spent the last couple of hours skyping and catching up with friends I have missed HEAPS! 
I have been keeping record of what I want to post on here, so I will try and catch up a bit over the next couple of days. The first thing I wanted to put on here was my experience at the Hollywood Museum! 
On the day that I was leaving Hollywood to go to Oceanside, I had a lot of time to kill before I had to get on the train. I thought the Hollywood museum would be a bit tacky and gimmicky, but I was SO wrong. I am really glad I went, because it turned out to be the best tourist attraction that I had seen in Hollywood! It was full of old movie sets, vintage makeup and hair styling tools- not to mention an entire floor dedicated to Marilyn Monroe! It was soooo interesting! I loved looking at all the old make-up adds, and reading about the glamorous lives of the vintage hollywood stars. Here are some photos I took...

suss the hair dryer!!!

I LOVED THIS!!! So cool that she was into weight lifting... definitely proof that weightlifting can be just as 'womanly' as any other work out :P

I really loved reading this- she had some very interesting tips...it is as if she was before her time in the beauty world! She talks about clean eating, not drinking too much and eating easy-to- digest foods. She also talks about taking care of her skin with cleansers and making sure she drinks plenty of water to keep her skin clear. I thought it was really interesting because these are all things that the modern 'clean lifestyle' incorporates... Too bad she didn't practice what she preached in the end... :(

Cheap and healthy day

After my run this morning, I chilled at my hostel for a little while, then decided to go check out Sunset Boulevard. I think I walked in the wrong direction because I ended up on the not-so-touristy end of the boulevard and to be honest I didn't see anything too exciting. BUT I did do A LOT of walking...in the hot sun...for about 3 hours straight... I'm stuffed! And I think the tops of my feet are sunburned! 
I did see a few cool little things though, including what I'm sure is the healthiest cafe in Hollywood. I had a kale, beetroot and feta salad as well as a green smoothie! But don't you worry, this doesn't mean american-stle burgers and pizza slices are not on my 'to-do list!' They will be in my belly soon enough! But for today, I just wanted to feel healthy and fit and get a good dose of greens!

A cool little vinyl record store

Sunset Boulevard

The biggest music store I have ever been in! This is only half of it! It makes JB Hi-Fi look like a bit of a joke...